JANET LORENZO St Julien : Today I am speaking with Janet Lorenzo who is in charge of Community Relations for the Tampa/Hillsborough County Library System This is for the USF Silver Anniversary Oral History Project Janet, what was your first contact with USF and what made you decide to come here? Could you also give us some of your first impressions of the University? Lorenzo : t Very honestly, I wanted to go away to school I thought it would be ideal to go to Florida State University, and my mother felt that I was too young to leave I was seventeen So there was a new university in Tampa There was a great deal of excitement about it First of all it was new Everything that we read in the newspaper said that it was going to be innovative It was not going to be standard as so many established colleges and universities were So I made out the application I was accepted I also had a scholarship from the state and that was very helpful My earliest impression was sand We had no grass We had lots of area with four buildings at that time There was no grass, but we had lots of sidewalks When the wind would come up the sand would also come up It was a small school, and that did have great appeal to me We probably had about two thousand students and having graduated from Hillsborough High School with a graduating class of 650, this was just a little bit larger than the high school It did give us a chance to get to meet and know alot of other people So it was warm and friendly It was hot outside in the sun, but it was warm and friendly St Julien : Were you a commuter student or did you live in the dorms?

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Lorenzo : t I was a commuter student St Julien : Because you are a native of Tampa? Lorenzo : t Yes I lived in Tampa at that time and I still do St Julien : Were there any dorm students at the time that you started here? Lorenzo : t Yes There were 24 girls living on the top floor of the University Center which later became the Health Center and I don't know what it became after that There were students living there and Jeanene McNair, who became a friend of mine, was one of those students and lived up there St Julien : So did you go in and visit in the dorms? Lorenzo : t Yes I did What a change it was when she moved into one of the official dorms That then became the health facility But I did get to know a number of students from beyond the city limits, other cities in Florida as well as other states More significantly, really, was getting to know students from other high schools in Tampa because the rivalry at that time was so intense that you really did not, for the most part, form friendships with people from another high school We got know that people that went to Plant High School were not all that bad even though there was the great football rivalry St Julien : What about any competition at Florida State or University of Florida? Do you remember any kind of feelings that went on between those universities and South Florida? Lorenzo : t Probably the thing that stands out most in my mind has to do with athletics because USF did not have and did not plan to have a football team, and 2

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many felt that USF would never last and would never have an alumni group that was active because they didn't have a football team So the University of Florida had the football team Florida State at that time, I believe, was not as well known for football But other than that, I don't recall any great competitive spirit St Julien : What were some of the other impressions that you received from people in the community about South Florida? Lorenzo : t There seemed to be two groups : those who felt that the University had to have athletics, specifically football, and those who felt the "Accent on Learning" was what they were interested in for their children So that year was an opportunity to send your child to a local college that was small, that was going to be dedicated to a learning atmosphere, and paying alot less than you would at a private college somewhere else So those seemed to be the two different views about it St Julien : Do recall any bickering over the fact that breweries were put up in that area? Lorenzo : t Oh, I think the students loved it! No, I don't have any recollection of that at all I never drank beer and still don't, so maybe that had something to do with it St Julien : Do you recall anything about the legislative processing and keeping the school going? Was it hard to get funds? Do recall anything about ? Lorenzo : t Early on the newspaper articles were covering the school starting and the selection of the faculty That kind of thing I recall I don't remember 3

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4 as much about problems with funding I presume that the way I looked at it as a student was it was started and they would fund it because it was the thing that you would do You wouldn't start something that you were not going to continue St Julien : What can you tell us about the College of Basic Studies? Lorenzo : t We all had certain courses that we had to take and not everyone was pleased about that We had humanities and that block I enjoyed very much I can remember students being very disgruntled about studying philosophy The interest in the economics part of it was not that great We've become much more attuned to business as a career field than we were at that time The languages and the math courses were, I think, fairly acceptable, and people understood that that was the norm I think the unusual courses were the ones that kind of set people on edge St Julien : Do you remember any of your schedules? Can you recall, in one semester, some of the classes that you had to take? Lorenzo : t I had a really hectic schedule because I finished in 3J years That was pressure I put on myself It seemed that we started classes at eight in the morning and we went until five at the end of the day There were no evening classes at that time I rode in a car pool There were five of us in the car pool So perhaps in my mind it went eight to five all the time because of the arrangements with the car pool We had alot of classes, and students now complain about the number of classes and it seemed that we had probably five classes during the day I do remember the four science courses that we had, the lecture, and then we had the small study group and then we had the lab So that it was broken up In

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languages we had the class with the conversational, which I took Spanish, and then we had the lab for that So it was broken up in alot of ways with the lecture block which was larger, St Julien : What about the "All University Book?" Lorenzo : t I probably couldn't name a single one of them right now, but I did read all of them The idea, as I recall, was that everyone would read that book and then it could be applied in the different subject areas so that everyone would have a point of discussion Not every student reads the textbook for the course, so there were alot of students who did not read that "All University Book ." I guess I would wonder if they still do that I had no strong feelings one way or the other I tended to read alot I'm a librarian now and one reason is because I enjoy reading so much So I do remember reading St Julien : Did you have discussions over the book? Lorenzo : t We probably did, but it doesn't stand out in my mind St Julien : What could you tell us about the development of the library, the book store, or the student government? Lorenzo : t The library in the University Center was housed in what was the president's dining room It was very small I was at that time not intending to become a librarian because I was in the Education program, but there were a limited number of books and that was one concern, that the library was not very large We did find, as I recall, materials that suited our needs I also remember professors taking from their own office shelves They would recommend books in conjunction with what the students were 5

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6 reading Paperbacks were very big and we would buy paperbacks We knew of second-hand book stores Also we went over to Haslem's in St Petersburg, which is a bookstore, and used that They had new and used books There were not alot of books in the library, but we did get what we needed Then, of course, it did expand As far as the bookstore, I don't have any strong recollections one way or the other about the bookstore I do know that when the classes started we all lined up to get all these books and we had tremendous bills, but that hasn't changed at all St Julien : Did you have the student newspaper at that time? Lorenzo : t We did In fact I worked on the student newspaper We had a newspaper that was printed by the Tribune and we brought our newspaper out on Monday I worked on the newspaper with a number of other students I believe that the editor at the time I was working with it is the young man who, a couple of years ago, won a Pulitzer up in North or South Carolina for the small newspaper that he is running there That made me feel very good, having contact with that kind of talent I did it as a bit of extracurricular work that I was just personally interested in We had a small group, maybe twenty-five or thirty I remember having classes that we would practice writing stories and taking certain slants and discussions of ethics involved in doing this paper work There were some problems with student government A student government president left, and it was perhaps something that was not quite admirable I don't recall exactly what it was Another person on the newspaper and I went and talked with him Then we went back, and with our advisor, discussed because so much of what he said he wanted to have off the record So at that point there was a great discussion of ethically as a newspaper

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person, how would you handle this kind of situation? So that, for me, was very much a positive one in experience My background, as far as my family was, is that you tell the truth and you live up to what you are responsible for So for me this was removing myself from black and white and looking more at a grey area But the newspaper did come out on Mondays, and we had news about the University, students, and faculty probably nothing really great I don't remember that we won any awards St Julien : Were you around when they had the Johns Committee? Lorenzo : t Oh yes! I was in the English class that was affected by this That was, for many of us, a very upsetting experience I was majoring in English and Education so I took alot of English courses We had, this particular class, older students I remember a man who was probably in his 40's At that time for us that was an older student Most of us though were younger students When this came to light there was immediately the speculation as to who would have objected to what we were reading because none of us, that I was aware of, believed that a professor would introduce something with any reason other than--you should be familiar with this genre, this type of literature because it was significant You should know the beat authors, this kind of thing I never recall having an English class that was full of innuendo and this is how I saw this working They were trying to put something into it that wasn't really there The students in the class were invited to go before the members of this Johns Committee to answer questions I recall that we could take a family member or we could have an attorney as a witness to what we were being asked and what we were saying At that time my fiancee went in with me 7

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8 because he was very curious about the whole process We were asked questions and as I recall the conclusion or the resolution of the whole thing was that we lost some very good professors and nothing really of great significance was proven that there was any wrong doing that was going on It was an unfortunate thing to happen We saw the University as not an atmosphere for permissive behavior or conduct, but a place that you could explore ideas and discuss things that you probably didn't know about before, and this was certainly the time to learn about those things St Julien : How did it affect the interaction of students and faculty? Lorenzo : t I think many of the faculty became They needed to establish some security for themselves, and I think they probably looked more closely at the students to see what we do in alot of cases when we are not sure about people "How far can I trust this person," for example It did limit their freedom in selecting materials and presenting them to a group of students As far as the students in that class, I am sure that we were looking out of the corner of the eye wondering what is this person thinking or what is being planned That may have been a very unfair thing for us to do because it's very possible that it was not a student going to his or her parent saying, "Look at this trash that we have to read," which could be one scenario It could be that the materials were left at home and you have a parent who is a very conservative person who saw this and said, "What are they teaching these kids?" I don't know For myself, I have two children in college right now and what it meant for me was that I wanted to make sure that I discussed with my children anything that they wanted to discuss and bring up For example, the Judy Blume book Forever

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9 When I thought my daughter was too young to read this because this is one of the adult books, she said that she wanted to read it because some of her friends had read it I had read the book and I said, "Alright, read it and then we will talk about it ." It probably helped me in broadening my approach to my children's reading and in that way it was a good thing I'm not sure that it was a good thing overall for the university community St Julien : Do you recall any kind of questions that they asked when you went in to talk to them? Lorenzo : t No, I don't recall that at all I don't know where I was in the list of people who went in It may have been that they started out and kept the same questions, or it may have been that they started out with certain questions and realized that perhaps what they had been told was not in fact what had happened in actual fact I really don't know I don't have any recollection of the questions St Julien : What was it like between the faculty and students before this happened? Because this was a small university, was there more contact? Lorenzo : t I remember a musical that was put on by students and faculty and this was something like "Midsurtmers Night Dream ." This may have been it, I'm not really sure I recall some of the faculty members who were very jovial, outgoing, and very welcoming of students being involved with them in projects Robin Krivanec, who is our Supervisor of Elections, Robin's husband was one of the faculty members I have very fond recollections, nothing specific, but very fond nostalgic feelings about Dr Krivanec and some of the others It was because we had small classes, and it was

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1 0 something new for everyone I think that the faculty was selected for their subject expertise and for their ability to lecture and present information Also there seemed to be this feeling of camaraderie that existed with so many of them That was one of the things that gave us a great sense of community St Julien : Did that apply also to the administration, Dr Allen, and his staff? Lorenzo : t Yes Dr Battle, who was at that time the head of the Education Department I never took it upon myself to go in and knock on Dr Allen's door to see if I could go in and have a chat, but I think probably it would have been a possibility I know that Dr and Mrs Allen were always at every function They were every place This was their job and it was their life For them, I believe, the students were a very positive and pleasant extension of his job so it became more a family kind of atmosphere in so many ways St Julien : How did the University change in appearance? You said that when you first came here all you could remember was sand I can remember Jeanene was talking about when they were trying to name a mascot and there was some rather bizarre suggestions I think one was the "Desert Rats ." What do you recall about that? Lorenzo : t Things got started in 1956, but it does take a long time to put together faculty, staff, and construction processes So we changed from being a desert with a few existing buildings to getting grass, having more buildings constructed, and growing more, and more students I know that this was intended, but I have gone back and 1 finished my program in December of 1963 I have gone back over the years and have taken more

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1 1 courses, usually evening courses consisting of special workshops and seminars, even up until the last few months when I was there for a computer seminar It has changed a great deal, and it has grown I think probably that this is a wonderful project for you to be doing because the students who are there now have no idea of what it was like back in that time, and I am hoping too that some people will have better memories about what went on because I will admit to be very interested in finishing my program in 31 years so that I could get married, teach, and really get on with what was important Somehow in my mind the education was important, but it was not as important as what I was going to do after I got it Also taking as many courses as I did, there was not the time for the extracurricular activities Probably the newspaper was the major thing that I was involved in It is much more to be enjoyed when you have more time I see lots of students busy with this and this and this and I think it is a wonderful thing now I follow the University and I make my donations, small at this point and I hope more significantly later, to the alumni association because I still see it doing good things for the school St Julien : What do you recall about the segregation? Was there any problem with the University with this? Did it start out as being integrated? Do remember having any black students in your class or any other minorities? Lorenzo : t I recall there being one young black man because my fiancee played basketball with him As far as minorities, I guess I'm not the best person to ask because I tend not to look at outward appearances of people I'm sure that we probably had other students I'm thinking if we had Oriental students for example We had many Hispanics because Tampa does have alot

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1 2 of Hispanics The man that I married is Hispanic So looking at it from that standpoint, yes, there were quite a few St Julien : So you really don't remember any kind of incidents? Lorenzo : t No, I don't recall that we had any situations occurring that were problems I think more than anything else, the big controversy was when there was skateboarding Apparently something came out of one of the newspapers up north or out west stating that skateboarding originated in California, and we all knew that skateboarding started at USF because we had all those sidewalks and the slopes So that, in my mind, would be something that there was more controversy about, other than the students and what their appearance was St Julien : Do you remember anything about the graffiti wall? That may have come afterwards, I'm not really sure Lorenzo : t No As a previous young adult librarian who believes in graffiti boards, no I don't recall anything about the graffiti wall St Julien : A comment was made that they thought that helped stem rebelliousness among the students because they could go and write anything that they wanted on this one particular wall, but that may have come later What about women? Did you ever get the feeling that there was any difference in the treatment of female students? Did they ever try to push them in a direction of typically feminine professions? Lorenzo : t That is a tough question because so many of us were in the Education Program, and we tend to look at the teaching field as one that women might

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1 3 be interested in There was not the nursing program at that time That is another one of the basic programs that you can identify with women St Julien : What about office management? I know they would say that when you get down to the business courses, it was actually clerical work Lorenzo : So many of the people that I knew best were in the Education Program This was male and female because the field was very open, and this was something that men were also very interested in As far as any of the young women going into business programs, I don't recall that that was something that they were as interested in St Julien : Did you have anything like home economics or any classes like that? Lorenzo : t No We had the rigorous academic courses St Julien : So everyone basically had the academic courses? Lorenzo : t Yes There was no time for anything that was going to be cushy First of all, on the part of those administrators who were involved with curriculum development, in order to have this "Accent on Learning," I believe they would have had in their minds the feeling that we must have strong courses in these fields, whether it would be business, humanities, or English, because this is what we were going to become known for At that time students didn't look for "Mickey Mouse courses ." I don't know if there were any In fact, there was the feeling later that if you were in Education you were in an easy program That probably continued for a long time I would not say that was really the case because you are going to make your program as demanding for yourself as what you want to get out of it I remember the professors that I had not being satisfied with

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1 4 mediocre work So there were As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and people who dropped out, so I think probably their plan was to have the curriculum demanding enough so that they could prove the University by the results, and that was what happened with the students later and what they were able to go out and do St Julien : Was there a theater group at USF at the time that it started? Lorenzo : t Yes I remember the "weird students" in theater They were the ones who were really the outgoing students In fact, one of the students who was in the Education Program whose name was Bambi Miller, and I can remember her mother worked here at the library and was our staff artist for many years There was to be a theater production Bambi was the understudy for this apparently famous person She was a woman that was coming in for this role, and the women had an illness and Bambi stepped in and was acclaimed This was a wonderful thing because she was very good at what she did in this production So there was the theater group in what I call the old theater There were a number of students that were very good in my estimation in the dramatic field and some who left and went to New York to try their luck in New York I can't come up with any specific names at this point Yes, it was something that was in place and, in fact, the reference that I made to the music production that the professors were involved in That was in the theater St Julien : Do you remember if the community was supportive in coming out to see these theater productions and music productions? Lorenzo : t I expect that there were those people from the community who were so pleased that we finally had that kind of thing here I have lived in

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1 5 Tampa since 1957, and my recollections early on were that Tampa had one movie theater that was showing the Sound of Music for six months There was not the great cultural element here, and much of that did grow with the people coming who were involved with the University of South Florida So we can thank the University for the cultural sophistication that developed So I think probably many of the people who were here who had been to other places before that did support it I suppose in my mind it was not so important, but then I was not involved in theater in any way Those people who were involved with theater probably could tell you how many people were out in the audience for their shows I think there was the growing support for the theater program and now, to get tickets, if you wait until it has been reviewed in the newspaper, you can't get the tickets If we want to go, we make sure that as soon as we get word that there is something coming, we get our tickets so that we can see what is happening St Julien : How was the University affected having the University of Tampa already in place? Was there any kind of rivalry between those two schools? Lorenzo : t Yes At that time the University of Tampa was not known for a fine academic program There was the interest on the part of those people that supported the University of Tampa, but it was considered a diploma mill It was very expensive You paid your money, and you could get your diploma if you used any effort at all I'm not saying that this was my belief, but I am only passing along what I recall We had alot of different kinds of things happening at the two different institutions The University of Tampa did have football They had sports and athletics Many of the students at USF would go to those games and support that

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Certainly the community supported that very much The rivalry among the students was that superficial kind of thing that "Oh well, this is my school and anyone that is not in my school really didn't make a good choice ." So there was that feeling and that did exist St Julien : Do you think the students from the University of South Florida had a superior attitude? Lorenzo : t That's the word I would use! Yes, I think there was the feeling that we were probably better than they are as students St Julien : Do you recall anything about the school's urban mission? Did you ever hear anything about the school's mission? I think part of it had to do with the "Accent on Learning," but also I think some of it has to deal with the fact that it was built in an urban area I was just wondering if you recall anything about the mission? Lorenzo : t The encouragement to be involved with what was going on in the community As a student your main job is to get an education, but what are you going to do with it when you leave? If you are going to be here, this is going to be your community The thing that comes to mind right now is the unfortunate situation that occurred, and this was years after I left, when a young woman was in Social Work went into the Ybor City community to do some kind of survey and she was accosted and assaulted That did put people more in the mind of "You have to be more selective about where you are putting students and what you are asking them to do ." That can certainly dampen programs and enthusiasm for programs But I guess basically there was the encouragement to become a cooperating, supporting, and a contributing member of the community 1 6

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1 7 St Julien : Do you remember if you did much research and papers or was it basically taking tests? Lorenzo : t As far as the whole academic program, we wrote alot of papers There were tests I remember those tests were like multiple choice, and they were just killers For the most part it seemed to be reading, interpretation of what you read, and discussions You would read something and probably the sequence would be that you would read it and you would write a paper and then we would have discussions in small groups about this The purpose of this being is to use your mind, do an essay, see what you could pull out, and then as a group we would discuss it and see how you could further your own analysis the next time St Julien : Where would you go if you had a problem? Did they have guidance counselors? Lorenzo : t An academic problem? St Julien : Yes With school and deciding what career you wanted to take What kind of facilities were there for students? Lorenzo : t When we first started, we were assigned an advisor My program was English Education and my advisor was Dr Glen Wolfenden, who was in the Science Program, and I remember he had a tarantula in this glass case on his desk We had some interesting discussions about my program initially Then I switched over so that I did have an advisor for the English Program as far as setting up my academic program I don't really recall going to anyone with real problems At that age I never would have considered discussing a personal problem with someone at the college I know that

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1 8 this is much more developed now so that there are people that students can feel more comfortable with As far as the academic program, I guess I was basically a good student I was keenly interested in what I was doing and also a shy person so that I might not put myself forward where others would So I probably spent more time talking with fellow students, other girls, in my car pool for example I would be comfortable in discussing things Working out a program was not that difficult because there were so many things that we had to take and then determining what you needed for your electives There was not a broad area for selecting that St Julien : Why would they assign you someone in Science when you were in Education? Did it create a problem for you? Lorenzo : t Initially, in the Basic Studies Program, you had two years that you were going to concentrate on what everybody else was t So at that point it didn't make too much difference If you were looking toward the next year, then by the third year you really needed to have much more guidance and direction No, it came to make sense I was put off by the tarantula that was alive at that first meeting, but I think probably that was it Everyone had to take certain courses, and this was one way to get everyone into the program and also the benefit there was that if there was an elective and I would consider another course, I would have somebody in a field completely separate from mine making recommendations St Julien : Is there any other things that you recall that stand out in your mind or something unusual that happened while you were there? Lorenzo : t No, I can' think of anything Probably as far as a summary statement, as my college career went, I found that I grew very quickly as a person and

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for me there were so many advantages to being removed from the small family situation and even though I was in a very large high school, I was pretty much tracked in courses so that I didn't get beyond what was set up in advanced English, for example I was always in the same courses with the same students So when I got to USF, it opened a whole world for me There were tests that we took when we made application, and I was placed in an accelerated English course and I remember dreading it thinking about how tough it was in high school Apparently it was based upon the skills that you had and your basic background I had the advantages of a very strong program in high school so that when I went into this course, Dr Robert Zachler was my English teacher and I had other courses with him later because I was an English major, and he was one of the people who was so instrumental in helping me to broaden myself so that I was not such an insular person This is what a college education, when it is well planned I certainly moved from a small secure world into a larger world and have good feelings about how the world is It is larger, and it doesn't frighten me I think that was all part of this beginning I had at USF I went back to USF and got my masters degree in Library Science, so I have been their student twice and probably will continue going back St Julien : What kind of eating arrangements were available to students? Lorenzo : t None! I remember carrying around alot of tuna fish sandwiches or something of that sort along I don't remember if there were even those little machines that were so handy now with apples, sandwiches, and yogurt and things We probably all carried our lunches or some might have gone Fast food chains were not really popular then There was 1 9

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^e probably a McDonald's, but it was so far down the road that nobody went on their lunch hour to go to eat I think probably we took our lunches St Julien : Was there any place to keep your lunches? Lorenzo : t No, I don't think so There was at some point the cafeteria in the University Center I don't know what time that came in Maybe it was there and I didn't utilize it I didn't recall that being there Alot students spent time in their cars eating lunches and learning to smoke There seemed to be a whole new world for people liking smoking St Julien : Were the buildings air conditioned? Lorenzo : t Yes St Julien : Was that a plus? I don't think at that time every house was air conditioned Lorenzo : No, and most cars were not air conditioned either After making that trek from one building to another in the heat, it was definitely a plus Rainy days were really a problem because with that walk across there and kind of stomping into class and trying to get the water off The air conditioning was very pleasant St Julien : If you look back over the years, what would you say were some of the worst or some of the best developments that you have seen at the University? Lorenzo : t Probably if I could have had it my way, it would have remained small because I have good feelings about a smaller educational facility So the growth and the demands as a result of the growth How can you keep up with getting really quality instructors if you know that you have to have

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St Julien : Thank you very much for talking with us today OPRIPC5 2 1 enough teachers for fifty English classes, for example That's a problem My son went to Florida State University, and he was probably at the end of his sophomore year before he could get basic English so I know that this is a problem, not just at USF but in other places as well So the demands that are placed on the faculty by the growth One of the worst things in my mind are the budget cuts that affect the library because we have libraries must have materials Yes, we accepted the fact early on that we were a beginning educational institution facility and the library was small As you grow and as you expect your students to go into the world and excel, you need to be able to provide the materials I think the funding bodies need to come up with the money to support the library So those probably would be two of the worst things The best things, certainly the acceptance by the community of the University and support for the University We have endowed chairs We have Business named for business leaders This is excellent The fact that there is the support of the theater program There is so much that the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County have gained as a result of those people who are involved and still are involved with the University So those are probably the best things